Today the Register had an interesting article about a bill wending its way through the state legislature that would impose a 25 cent “fee” or whatever terminology you want to use, for every plastic bag a shopper walks out with.

There was a poll included with the article, with a typical 57 percent of OC Register readers living in their own worlds who replied, “mind your own business” in regards to the proposed law.

Give me a break, people.

I agree that the law as is sounds a bit flawed. Where the collected money will go doesn’t seem to be clear, and grocery stores should not be the only targets of this law.

However, the whole point of the bill is to pull people’s collective heads out of their asses the sand and help them to realize that plastic bags are a huge threat to the environment, to wildlife, and to the beauty of our landscapes. It is not your “right” as an American to use plastic bags.

If China, who last week banned plastic bags, is ahead of us on environmental policy, then we have some serious catching up to do.

If you are too damn lazy to buy some reusable bags (available at Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Amazon to name just a few places) then twenty five cents a bag sounds reasonable to me.

What is even more sad is that we have to hit people in their pocketbooks to change their habits instead of them doing it because it is the socially responsible thing.